Kate and I decided to have a little retail therapy yesterday (followed by some NCIS therapy) :)

We took on Marshall's and Target - two of our faves!

We both went with a few specific things in mind (I needed placemats, she needed a bath mat) but we also managed to find a few other treasures along the way... which I'm really excited about and so I've decided to share them with you.

Ok! Let the reveal begin!

First up: the placemats! I've been looking for them everywhere for the last few weeks - I found plenty of options but none the right character for the right price. Lucky for me, Marshall's came to my rescue!

Adorable right??? It was $12.99 for a set of 4 - not too shabby considering most of the (icky) styles I'd been finding were actually $4 or $5 each and I wasn't even able to get a full set because stores were always out of stock!

I also picked up those yellow cloth napkins at Marshall's (and in taupe) - set of 4 in each color for only $4.99! (These were also on my "must have" list given that a single dinner party used all of the ones I already had and I'm just not going to do laundry on demand... but I adore cloth napkins for some reason and so they were a lucky find!)

I also found a new candle (Marshall's again) for only $6.99 - not too bad considering it's HUGE! And smells amaaaaazing...

I also found some fun gadgets for the kitchen (yes, we're still at Marshall's) that I probably don't necessarily "neeeeeeeed"..... but I'm pretty sure my mom would include on her "I'm down to my bare essentials!!" list... :)

1. Misto olive oil sprayer - I've never been a huge fan of buying aerosol oils... It just seems wasteful to me (not to mention, there's GOT to be some kind of chemical contamination going on...) but I will admit that sometimes a "drizzle" can sometimes be more than you want and/or doesn't really distribute as evenly as you want... So I saw this as a smart buy ($7.99)!

(I took this photo from Amazon.com so you could get an idea if you're not quite sure what I'm talking about - mine is red though... sassy.) You just pump the cap a few times before you want to use it to build up a little pressure and then spray away!

2. Zyliss salad spinner! Love it. (Can't find a photo online though - I'm guessing it's an older model... hence the super sale price of $12.99. PLUS it came with a non-spinner top so that I can use it to store my washed lettuce in, too!

3. They had 4-packs of Sarsasparilla (old-school root beer-esque soda for those playing the home game) for $2.99 - I remember when my grandfather used to buy this to share with me for special occasions... it was a big bonding moment for us and I miss him so it was a must.

4. I'm a huge fan of seltzer so it seemed essential that I donate $2.49 for a lemon keeper...

(Can you tell? Kate turned her back and left me alone for 3 minutes and I went wild...)

5. This may be my favorite item of the evening - and again determined "a must" after the last dinner party's confusion over who's glass was who's.

Whew! We had to get out of Marshall's before I could collect anything else - on to Target!

Primary goal of Target was to find some kind of system to help me organize my closets. I discovered the Itso Storage Cubes (you can google this one yourself...) which I think are just perfect... They stack and connect perfectly and I can customize the arrangement of them (which also makes them easy to move and repurpose at any point). They're 1-foot cubes and you can buy little extras for them - shelves, canvas baskets of all sizes, lids or doors (white board finish!), etc. For now I just got the basic white cubes and I figured I can always go back to pick up shelves if I find I need them...

I also bought some cute sheer curtains for my bedroom but I'm going to wait until I can put them up before I show you... :)

Whew! Now all I have to do is put all of these to good use! (At this point, the Party People are the only purchase that has been fully tested - Kate and I tried them out immediately and they are now socializing on the front of my microwave!)

(That's what Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson said anyway, when she congratulated us after the Masters degree students received our diplomas.)

Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite the universe... But I DID get my Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering today!

It was a beautiful, sunny day - although the black gowns made it a liiiiiiittle warm... (And while it was nice that they were 100% made from recycled plastic bottles, it still meant I was sitting outside in a plastic bottle... a black plastic bottle... also known as a sauna.) Lucky for me there was a nice breeze so it wasn't too bad. :)

Mom, Dad, and Rob were there cheering me on. Here are some of the pictures they took!

(Just click on the photos for a larger view! You can also scroll through them that way...)

It was a wonderful day and I now have my second degree under my belt! On to number three!! Mom and Dad are taking Rob and I out to dinner in Saratoga a little later tonight to celebrate. :)

The past week has been jam-packed with packing, unpacking, arranging (and rearranging), oh yeah.... and of course still working on that whole research thing... This is probably the best I've slept in a long time...

But! The good news is that it's all paid off - apartment-wise anyway... the research is still a work in progress... I'll get back to you in a few years on that one...

I'm mostly settled - I still haven't unpacked my desk or hung pictures yet or anything... but I just can't wait any longer! And at least you can get an idea of where it's going :)

So let's get this tour started!!

Here's a look at the dining room and kitchen... (the door on the right there is the door into the apartment)

A closer view of the kitchen:

And the dining room from a different angle...

Living room!!!

Here's the view of the entryway from the couch:

This is probably my favorite little nook of the apartment... super comfy chair just perfect for curling up with a book (pending I find the time to read for recreation). And thank you divider screen for saving me from Awkward Corner Syndrome!

A combination of greens and taupe has rescued my white and 1970s-gold bathroom. I just love it! :)

(Not to mention, it's soooo nice to have a shower that does more than spittle on me!)

Aaaaand now our tour takes us into the bedroom!

I adore my bed... Just in case you couldn't tell, I'm working on a black and white theme with splashes of pinks (which may soon switch to purple... unsure about that one still...)

My desk is still completely empty but it's a work in progress!!

And here's a quick peek from the other angle! I'm not quite sure about how this little corner near the bookshelf will pan out... (not to mention the fact that other than the TV, this "bookshelf" has become more of a "craftshelf" at this point... I'm thinking of hunting down a cute chair to put next to the lamp by the window - reading nook #2?)

And that's pretty much it! (If you're a little disoriented, I have the layout shown in a previous post here...)

In short? - I LOVE IT!!!!

As I start decorating it a bit more I'll be sure to post the updates. :)